Cape Cod Academy student honored by state association

Friday

It’s one thing when your school, your teammates or your coach acknowledge you as an outstanding student-athlete.

However, when the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association gives you kudos as its student-athlete of the month, you know you have made quite a name for yourself.

Such was the case for Cape Cod Academy senior and three-sport athlete William Olsen, who was the recipient of the MIAA’s Student-Athlete of the Month Award for January 2017.

“I was shocked because I didn’t even know my athletic director (Jeff Condon) had nominated me,” said Olsen. “It was really cool. I didn’t even know such an award existed, so I was very honored.”

Olsen, a member of the Seahawks soccer, basketball and baseball teams, is a dedicated leader and a two-year captain in both soccer and baseball.

As the MIAA noted of the senior athlete, he “provides motivation for teammates through the consistent positive example that he displays. Although Will has experienced setbacks due to injury, he has persevered and worked hard to contribute to each team.”

The MIAA presents this award on a monthly basis to one male and one female student-athlete who display excellence in the areas of academics, athletics and community service. Monthly award winners receive a certificate of recognition and are nominated by principals, athletic directors, teachers, coaches, guidance counselors or other school administrators.

CCA athletic director Conlon has had the opportunity to observe Olsen in each of the three sports he has participated in.

“Will is a mature and responsible student-athlete,” Conlon said. “He is a positive contributor to all aspects of student life here at school.”

Olsen, who travels from Dennis to Cape Cod Academy each day, noted the "homey-ness" of the school, which he feels is most important.

“With the small classes, you get one-on-one experience with teachers,” he said. “For someone like me, you get the opportunity to become a three-sport varsity athlete, which I couldn’t do at a larger school. It gives you the best opportunities.”

For the past four years, Olsen has been a member of the Seahawks soccer team under coach Alan Bell, and also played under Bell as a JV basketball player as a freshman and sophomore.

“Will has been an absolute pleasure and there is no other multi-sport athlete more deserving of this recognition,” said Bell, who added that Olsen was “an automatic captain choice” for the soccer squad.

“His commitment to keeping all of his Seahawks teams focused on the job at hand was his strongest trait,” he continued. “The players had total belief in his approach. As a coach, that made my job much easier to do.”

When it came to the basketball court, Olsen was described by his first-year coach Adam Rose as “our captain, our rock, the best role model in our program,” Rose said. “His work ethic is second to none, with the focus and drive to be successful at whatever he does in life.”

Rose acknowledged Olsen’s parents, Liz and Tom Olsen, whom he praised for raising “such a responsible, respectable young man,” he said. “He was an amazing captain, led by example every day, and was a great communicator. He never wavered or faltered; even after a tough loss he was always the positive reinforcement we needed to keep moving forward.”

However, as successful as Olsen has been in the athletic arenas, his performance in the classroom has been just as impressive.

With an academic schedule that included the school’s most challenging curriculum with multiple Advanced Placement courses, he has excelled in such courses as calculus AB, physics C, English and microeconomics.

And if that’s not impressive enough, his extracurricular and community service activities include serving as a student government class representative as a sophomore and junior, and then being elected president of the Student Council this current year.

Olsen has also organized the school prom with a fellow class representative, runs bi-weekly All-Community Meetings, gives tours to prospective families as a member of the Blue Key Society and planned the first-ever Field Day and Pep Rally as part of the Athletic Council.

“I like to get involved,” Olsen said. “It’s great to see what you can do personally to help out a place like this, which is such a small school. You can see your own personal impact.”

Olsen is currently awaiting word from some of the colleges he has applied to for the mechanical engineering program, including Notre Dame, Virginia, Wake Forest, Lehigh, Cornell and Mass Maritime Academy.

Rose summed up the sentiments of anyone who has had the opportunity to cross paths with this outstanding young man.

“Will Olsen will be sorely missed by me, our coaching staff, the teammates he leaves behind and the Cape Cod Academy community,” said Rose. “I know he will be successful in whatever he chooses to do in life, and we (the CCA basketball family) will surely miss him.”

Mike Richard can be contacted by email at mikerichard0725@gmail.com.

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